Dell to Acquire SAAS Integrator Boomi

Boomi makes a SAAS application integration platform called AtomSphere that enables easy transfer of data between cloud-based and on-premises applications.

As CEO and founder Michael Dell had
hinted earlier in the day at a conference in Hong Kong,
Dell made a cloud computing acquisition on Nov. 2. Only it wasn't the one many
people expected at this time.

The Round Rock, Texas-based computer and server maker added a key ingredient to
its cloud strategy when it announced it will acquire software-as-a-service (SAAS)
integrator Boomi.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Earlier in the day, Wall Street speculation had focused on Dell's possible
acquisition of Web hosting and services provider Rackspace, causing Rackspace's
stock to rise $1.69, or more than 6 percent, to $27.

Boomi, not a well-known IT company by any means, makes a SAAS application
integration platform called AtomSphere that enables easy transfer of data
between cloud-based and on-premises applications-with no appliances, no
software and no coding required.

Boomi is headquartered in Berwyn, Pa.
Its platform is used by Salesforce CRM along
with large enterprises in verticals such as marketing, financial, human
resources, content management and service-desk management.

Boomi manages millions of transactions a month and has completed tens of
thousands of cloud integrations for hundreds of global customers.

"This was a fantastic outcome for the team, our customers and
partners," said Boomi President and CEO
Bob Moul. "Dell gives us the global platform to continue to scale Boomi
AtomSphere."

No secrets about Dell strategy

Dell has made no secret of the fact that its strategy for the next few years is
to invest in hardware, software and services for new-generation data centers
that will contain private cloud computing systems. The company is doing this
through a combination of acquisitions and partnerships.

Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz